Perth Glory Head Coach Kenny Lowe has not minced his words ahead of the vital clash against the Newcastle jets at nib Stadium on Saturday night.
With 10 matches left in the season, Glory will need a strong and spirited performance to overcome a rejuvenated and re-invigorated Newcastle Jets, who last week claimed the scalp of the flamboyant Melbourne City.
Pacey winger Andrew Nabbout scored a brace and will no doubt lurk as a major threat this weekend.
However Lowe said scoring goals for his team wasn’t’ a problem.
“In my time we’ve been the second highest scorers in the A-League in the two and a half seasons I’ve been here, so we’re always going to score goals, and hopefully we can on the weekend and win” he said.
The team will be without the strong and reliable goalkeeper Liam Reddy, who will miss this game due to suspension.
However, Lowe said Reddy’s absence paved the way for either Nick Feely or youngster Jordan Thurtell to step up.
“You always want your best players on the park and he’s been super for us” Lowe said.
“It’s a great opportunity for Nick or Turts (Thurtell). It’s part of their development and it’s going to be a good day for them”.
Lowe acknowledged the team needed to be more consistent and with still 30 points up for grabs he was confident the team could finish in a soid spot within the top six.
“ If we can go on a roll and we’re well capable to that and we’ve got the quality to do that then you know we’ll end up being in (good spot) you know there’s lots of spots above us that are up for grabs and there’s no reason for us to kick -n and do that”.
“We need to be conscious and consistent in our concentration that we don’t give absolute stupid goals away..which we do”
The match, which follows the Women’s semi-final against Sydney FC, kicks-off at 7pm.
MATCH STATS
- Newcastle Jets have earned competition points in each of their last two games against Perth Glory (W1, D1), snapping the eight-game losing streak prior to that. The last time Newcastle took competition points from more consecutive games against the Glory was a four-game streak in 2010 to 2011 (W3, D1).
- Newcastle Jets have won only two of their 17 games away from home against Perth Glory (D4, L11), those wins coming in their first ever such encounter and their most recent.
- Perth Glory have won their last two games on home soil, each by a score of 2-1, the last time they won more in succession was a five-game streak from January to April 2016.
- Newcastle Jets are searching for back-to-back wins for the first time since Rounds 10 and 11 this season, a brace which included a 2-1 victory against Perth Glory.
- Perth Glory have saved 93.8% of shots faced from outside the box, the most of any team in the competition and one of only two teams (Mariners, 92%) to save more than 90%.
- Andy Keogh has been involved in eight goals in his last eight games against Newcastle Jets, scoring four and assisting four more.
Match Details
Saturday, 4 February 2017
Perth Glory v Newcastle Jets
nib Stadium, Perth
Kick-Off: 7:00PM (Local) (10:00PM (AEDT))
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew Southern
Fourth Official: Ben Abraham
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on Fox Sports 505 from 10.00pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 1 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: ABC Radio Perth, 1233 ABC Newcastle, ABC Radio WA, Grandstand Digital, Online & via the ABC Radio Mobile App – A-league Live
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvNEW
Perth Glory squad: 3.Marc WARREN, 4.Shane LOWRY, 5.Rhys WILLIAMS, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Joel CHIANESE, 8.Rostyn GRIFFITHS (c), 9.Andy KEOGH, 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 13.Nick FEELY (gk), 14.Chris HAROLD, 15.Brandon WILSON, 16.Joe MILLS, 17.Diego CASTRO, 19.Josh RISDON, 20.Aryn WILLIAMS, 22.Adam TAGGART, 24.Milan SMILJANIC, 30.Jordan THURTELL (gk)
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 5.Rhys WILLIAMS (promoted), 8.Rostyn GRIFFITHS (returns from suspension), 30.Jordan THURTELL (gk) (promoted)
Out: 1.Liam Reddy (gk) (suspended – 1 match)
Unavailable: 2.Alex GRANT (foot – 2 weeks), 18.Mitch OXBORROW (foot – 2 weeks)
Newcastle Jets squad: 2.Daniel MULLEN, 3.Jason HOFFMAN, 4.Nigel BOOGAARD (c), 7.Andrew HOOLE, 8.Mateo POLJAK, 10.Wayne BROWN, 12.Harrison SAWYER, 15.Andrew NABBOUT, 16.Nicholas COWBURN, 18.MA Leilei, 19.Morten NORDSTRAND, 20.Jack DUNCAN (gk), 22.Lachlan JACKSON, 23.Devante CLUT, 28.John KOUTROUMBIS, 29.Joel ALLWRIGHT, 50.Tomislav ARCABA (gk)
**one to be omitted**
Ins: 10.Wayne BROWN (returns from injury), 29.Joel ALLWRIGHT (promoted)
Outs: 6.Steven UGARKOVIC (suspended – 1 match)
Unavailable: 1.Ben KENNEDY (gk) (Achilles – season), 5.Ben KANTAROVSKI (knee – 1 week), 13.Ivan VUJICA (hamstring – 1 week), 21.Daniel ALESSI (knee – season)
